There they were: the four of them. This is what it has come down to. The past year has been all about these four people, and where they belong. Elizabeth looked around at the three faces before her, studying them.

Her eyes landed on Sam. This woman was a piece of work, that's for sure. Her past was chock full of indiscretions and cons, not to even mention the immense pain she had put Jason through. Through it all though, she still had the unmitigated gall to judge Elizabeth, playing the ever popular "poor me" card whenever she saw fit. She ran and told anyone who would listen how Elizabeth wormed her way into Jason's bed. Not once did she own up to the fact that Jason had caught her with her step-father and probably the one person Jason hated most in this world. Funny how she could conveniently forget that part, all the while trashing Elizabeth to anyone who could stand to listen. The fact that this woman had known about Jake since he was born and never said a word, only manipulated both Jason and Elizabeth for her own purposes made her look desperate and slightly delusional. There was a time during this past year when she would have stepped aside and let Jason be happy with Sam. She knew how Jason felt about her, and if Jason was happy, then so was she. But after witnessing the woman manipulating and scheming to get what she wanted, she couldn't do it anymore. Jason deserved better. While, she felt bad that this whole thing had hurt Sam, a part of her felt good that this woman that has run havoc on both hers and Jason's lives will finally get a small piece of what she truly deserves.

She moved her eyes to the man she had thought she would spend the rest of her life with. This man had been the person who picked her up and helped her move on from a horrifying experience. They were mere children when they pledged their lives to each other, placing a permanent lock on their love. Sadly, she didn't see that boy in the man standing in front of her. What she did see was a controlling, self-destructive sorry excuse of a man. How she ever thought she could live with this man after he had ripped her world apart, she would never know. He had risked her life and the life of her son for his addiction, and fell into bed with someone who was barely an adult. All the while, he blamed his actions on others, namely her. And after all of that, everyone still expected her to forgive and forget. She tried so hard, even hurt someone who meant so much to her for his sake. As she looked at him now, she realized it was futile, at best. She'd always known deep down that she couldn't keep up with the lie forever. Her heart would eventually win out over her head. As much as she still loved Lucky, it wasn't the same. It was that of an old friend, not of a husband. She hoped that somehow, someday, she could call him friend, but knew that she needed to break that permanent lock, because they were different people now, and her heart belonged somewhere else now.

Finally her eyes rested on the man who held her heart, probably since that first night at Jakes all those years ago. Feelings that she thought were long gone came to the surface that hot August night, and they've just gotten stronger as the months went on. She saw in his eyes how much pain he had gone through due to Sam's betrayal. She understood where that pain was coming from; she herself had to be a witness to the same thing. She saw how he blamed himself for initially walking away from Sam, so she could be safe. Jason was always thinking about how he could keep the people he cared about safe. She knew that was one of the reasons he never went after her after she walked away from him so many times. Asking him to give up his child was the worst mistake she ever made. She knew what being a father meant to him. She was so convinced that his future lied with Sam, and there was no way she wanted to be an obligation to him. She was so blinded by her own obligation to Lucky and making sure he stayed clean, she put aside her feelings for this wonderful man who has always been on her side for as long as she'd known him, the one man who just wanted her to do what she wanted to do, not what people expected. He was the one person who knew the real her. She never thought she could love anyone the way she used to love Lucky. She'd since come to realize that the love she had had for Lucky didn't compare to the love she held for this man in front of her. This man, with the bluest eyes she'd ever seen, ones that could see right into her soul. She didn't know that she would ever have the chance to make up for everything she had done to him, but if she ever had the opportunity again, she would grab it with both hands and hold on for dear life.